


The Top Secret Technique

by CQueen



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Innuendo, Loss of Innocence, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi, Volleyball Dorks in Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-20 07:46:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30001581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CQueen/pseuds/CQueen
Summary: Basically...purehearted, utterly oblivious, volleyball obsessed Tanaka, Noya, and Kageyama are on a quest to discover the top secret training technique Suga mentioned but refuses to teach them.  The only one he'll teach is Daichi, and that was only because he got really mad and lost his temper when Daichi wouldn't stop asking him about it.The sounds coming from behind the locked door...well the clueless trio don't know what to think.But they're determined to find out, even if it kills them and the rest of their team.  They'll do what it takes to be the best team possible for Nationals!
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Kudos: 6





	The Top Secret Technique

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else, and that's just the way It's gotta be. I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think.

Note: I haven't read the manga at all, and have only seen what's available on Netflix. Just FYI. Please let me know about any obvious mistakes!

The Insanity Begins

The question that would be whispered about amongst the members of the Karasuno High School Men's Volleyball Team was strange and confusing. Those it was posed to either drew a complete blank, especially when they were given further information about why they were being asked it in the first place, or they knew...and refused to explain to their teammates despite repeated requests, begging, and threats to their person. The ones in the know also either flushed with embarrassment and changed the subject or, in the case of their middle blocker, outright laughed and teased them for their ignorance. Unless the third years were around. Then even Tsukishima just told them they were better off not knowing and walked away.

Only one member of the team was not asked for his opinion, but there was a very good and logical reason for that. Yes, Hinata might know the answer given that he was friends with Nekoma's setter, but they couldn't risk it. Not if the answer might lead to their archnemeses becoming a better team.

After all, the clueless teammates theorized, the question was 'What could Nekoma's captain, Kuroo, do for his setter, Kenma, that would motivate the latter to give one hundred percent to the game and work harder than anyone else on the team to win?'.

Anyone who'd ever played against the team or knew Kenma personally knew that the second year wasn't into volleyball. He only played because his best friend-Kuroo-did. The frankly strange and very cat like second year was really good, particularly when it came to strategizing and working with his teammates, but his heart was very obviously not in it. Kenma often looked bored and detached during games, never getting worked up or physically putting himself out there.

If he cared about the game, about winning...how much more of a threat would he be?

Also...what was this top-secret motivator Sugawara knew about? Was it something they could be using to motivate each other? Why was it apparently so painful? Why did talking about it make some people blush and stutter?

Why wouldn't those who were in the know explain it to those who didn't before their heads exploded?

Kageyama, Noya, and Tanaka were the most determined to find out those answers. This is the story of their investigation, and the events leading to it.

)

Asahi was standing in front of a vending machine, considering his choices, when the sound of pounding feet had the ace glancing over to his right to see what all the fuss was about. The sight of Noya and Tanaka running at him like the hounds of Hell were chasing after them had his eyebrows rising, a hint of dread curling in his gut at their wild expressions. But it was the presence of Kageyama that really concerned him. The other two...well they could be a touch overzealous and dramatic at times. Especially when it came to the team and life in general. Their manager Kiyoko could also be in the vicinity, Asahi reasoned, and that could easily explain their behavior. But the first year was all but at the other twos' heels, and the way they were zeroing in on him...

Damn. This could not be good.

Immediately going on the defense Asahi held up his hands in what was meant to be a calming, slow down gesture, the volleyball ace using his soft, inside voice as he asked them what had them all fired up this time.

"Suga did something to Daichi!" Noya announced breathlessly, coming to a screeching halt in front of him. "Something really bad!"

"We don't know that!" Tanaka immediately argued, pointing a threatening finger in Noya's direction. "Sports are pain! Suffering is part of it! Suga would never-he was showing him some top secret technique, remember? That's what he said."

"Were you not listening to the noises our captain was making?" Noya argued right back, eyes wild.

"He looked okay when we saw him afterwards." Kageyama stated as he crossed his arms in front of him, the closest thing to the voice of reason the trio had. "But he WAS making some very painful sounding noises, and wouldn't look at us or tell us what Suga did. That's why we came to you." He added, looking at Asahi. "We thought you should know."

"And could tell us maybe what the technique is." Noya added, shooting Asahi a questioning look too. "Maybe something the old coach taught you guys before?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. And let's lower our voices, okay. The last thing we want is to get our team in trouble with the teachers. Or the Vice Principal."

The three thankfully nodded in agreement with that, all of them casting suspicious looks around them before huddling in closer with Asahi.

"We should tell him from the beginning." Noya decided, immediately launching into an explanation which was mostly gibberish thanks to the fact that Tanaka was talking at the same time, and soon the two were too busy trying to talk over each other and contradicting what the other had apparently said for Asahi to have any idea what they were trying to tell him. Something about their teammates, their clubhouse, and moaning?

Getting a headache, not to meant his bad feeling was just growing by the minute, Asahi waited until they'd both paused for breath-which took a few minutes-and then he very reasonably suggested that only one person tell him what happened. They could flip a coin to decide who.

Noya won.

"But that's not fair! Noya and Kageyama weren't even there for the first part! I should get to tell that part!"

Noya rolled his eyes at Tanaka. "Fine. You tell that part, and I'll tell him what happened when the kid and I got there. That's fair."

The two second years eyed each other, then nodded in agreement of that plan.

"So it all started when Daichi and I were on our way to grab a training video he wanted me to look at that was in the clubhouse." Tanaka began, lowering his voice and making it a little spooky, like he was telling a ghost story. "We were almost there when we spotted Suga, who didn't see us at first. He was flexing the fingers on his right hand and wincing, like it hurt. Remember how his fingers got slammed yesterday in practice?"

Asahi nodded, wincing over the memory. it had been partially his fault, after all.

"Well they weren't taped up today and Daichi got mad at him for not taking proper care of them. Suga said he'd taped them the night before and that Daichi was overreacting, but Daichi kept lecturing him worse than my mom! So the captain says Suga has to wrap them now, and how he needs to come with us to the clubhouse and he'll do it himself. Suga didn't want to but, errr, I helped Daichi drag him there."

More cause for wincing, as Asahi was well aware that Suga had not been having the best week. First and foremost, Sugawara and their whole team were still recovering from their tournament loss to Seijoh. It had been a devastating loss, especially for him and the other third years who were very, very much aware that this year was their last year of high school. Their last year to play for Karasuno. Hell, their last year to play together before they had to say goodbye to each other and move on into the unknowns of adulthood. Their last chance to go to Nationals.

There was also the pressures that came with exams and graduation, parental expectations and teachers breathing down your neck. Sugawara was a good student, always had been, and even planned to pursue a career in education in the future. Of course that meant his final grades were very important, and the pressures others were putting on him were on par with the pressure he was putting on himself.

Last, but definitely not least, there was the crappy practice they'd just had the night before where nothing had seemed to go right. Everyone was tired, heartsore, pushing themselves and their teammates too much and just-it had been a shit show. Crappy from start to finish, and by the time they called it quits everyone was in a bad mood and blaming themselves for everything.

"Suga lost his temper?" It was rare, but Asahi had seen it and knew to fear it. More than Daichi losing his temper, actually. But they'd said something about painful training techniques and where did that fit in?

"Big time." Noya confirmed, nodding his head sagely.

"I'm still telling this part." Tanaka reminded him. "So we get to the clubhouse and Daichi's wrapping Suga's fingers up while he and I are talking about training and practice and just the usual volleyball stuff when Suga muttered something that made the captain really mad. Me too, a little."

A pause for emphasis.

"We'd been taking about our next fight with Nekoma and Suga, he says 'We're just lucky their idiot captain doesn't realize how easily he could get their setter to play to his full potential.'. And Daichi was like 'what do you mean?', and Suga didn't want to tell him. Daichi really got mad, asking how could Suga not tell him if there was some top-secret technique that would make Suga and Kageyama better setters. Suga was really cold and dismissive at first, telling Daichi that he was an idiot and he didn't know what he was talking about. Then Daichi was like, 'Are you saying Kuroo is a better captain than I am? That he can do something I can't?' and Suga was all 'You're both stupid, and this is a stupid conversation.'. They went back and forth-I couldn't even get a word in-then Suga snapped."

"Snapped...how?" He didn't want to ask. Asahi knew he didn't want to know, especially since an inkling of an idea was blooming in his mind...but for the sake of the team he knew he had to ask.

"He said something like, 'So you want to know how you could make me a better player, Captain? Fine. I'd be happy to show you.'. Then he grabbed my arm, all but threw me out of the clubhouse, told me to go back to class, and then locked the door on me!"

"It's my turn to talk now." Noya burst out, the weight of keeping quiet now lifted, making him all but vibrate with pent up emotion. "We came in like right then, almost. Kageyama and I were nearby, talking about how practice sucked yesterday, and we saw Tanaka pacing in front of the clubhouse door, looking like an expecting father whose wife's in labor."

"I did not look-!"

"You did." Kageyama and Noya stated in perfect unison.

"So we went up there to see what was going on, and that's when we heard it. Heard him." Noya added, his voice going very solemn, almost grave. "We couldn't see what Suga was doing, obviously, but whatever it was...it was painful. The captain was moaning and gasping and he even swore a bunch of times. He kept saying things like 'it's too much' and 'you shouldn't' and mumbling a bunch of stuff too. It was hard hearing him through the door, and after we called out to make sure we didn't need to rescue him we heard Suga order him to say he was okay, and he did. After that he didn't make as much noise, though we still heard enough to know Suga was still doing whatever he was doing."

Swaying a little, Asahi braced a hand on the wall for support. Oh hell. Oh hell, no. It WAS what he'd thought. And these three had heard them!

"They were in there for like...maybe eight minutes, and then Suga came out looking really...super villiany? Like evil and really pleased with himself? It was a little scary." Noya was willing to admit that. It was his job to take care of his teammates, after all, and Asahi needed all the facts. "He-Suga-closed the door behind him, and said we couldn't open it for five minutes. Daichi's orders. Then he left."

"We didn't take Suga's word for it." Tanaka assured Asahi earnestly, not wanting him to think they hadn't protected their captain properly. "We waited until Suga was on the stairs and then whispered to Daichi, asking if he needed us."

Noya interrupted before Tanaka could take over the narrative. "He said no, he was fine. He didn't sound fine though. He looked okay when he opened the door, I mean he wasn't bleeding or bruised or anything. He just looked a little disheveled, and he wouldn't look to us and hardly talked to us. He ordered us to go back to class and forbid us from asking what had happened."

"But what did he do?" Kageyama muttered, more to himself than to them, it seemed. He was scowling fiercely. "I'm a setter, if there's something I could be doing, I need to know."

In that moment...Asahi could honestly say he'd never wanted the floor to open up and swallow him more. Especially with the three of them looking to him for answers he definitely did NOT want to give them.

)

Asahi's salvation came in the form of another member of their team, though not a player this time. Tanaka and Noya's radars were so well honed in this regard that even while they were staring at Asahi and lost in their questions and speculations about Daichi and Suga they still spotted Kiyoko the moment she stepped into the hallway, the two immediately forgetting everything else as they ran over to greet her. A greeting she shyly returned before Kiyoko asked why they were making such a fuss in the hallway, and shouldn't they be in their own classrooms. They didn't want to get in trouble, did they?

Oh no.

"NO!" His voice literally boomed, echoing in the hallway so that pretty much everyone nearby went quiet as they turned to look in Asahi's direction.

"I just...sorry but...don't tell her. You can't. It's...you need to respect what the captain and Sugawara said. This is between them, and...no."

"You know what he did, don't you?" Kageyama asked with interest.

This of course led to Noya and Tanaka looking back and forth between Kyoko and Asahi, visibly torn between what was more important. Kiyoko, or their questions being answered.

Under normal circumstances Asahi would have wanted to let it play out, just to see who or what would win, but in this case discretion was very important. Especially since there were plenty of people in the school who would be able to figure out what had happened in the clubhouse.

And the last thing they needed was THAT getting around the school.

"Look, you three need to drop this, okay? Daichi is fine." Probably.

"So there is some secret training technique to make people better setters?" Noya wanted to know, immediately looking in Kageyama's direction. "Then why isn't Daichi doing it with him, too? He's our starting setter."

Calling upon all the calm and focus he had in him-he was going to completely freak out over this later, Asahi did his best to answer the question without thinking about what Noya was unknowingly suggesting. "It's not a top secret training technique. Really. It's just-it can only work under certain conditions. They aren't keeping some special training from Kageyama or anyone. It's not even a setter thing."

Noya's eyes narrowed. "Wait, so it's something anyone can do to improve a teammate's game? Something I could do? For you?"

Okay, he'd reached his limit. Asahi went bright red at that and sent a look in Kyoko's direction that begged her to save him before his head exploded.

"I don't know what's going on, but if Asahi says that we shouldn't discuss it here, I think we should listen. You all should go back to your classrooms, and then ask him about it again later. When he gives you the okay." Kiyoko tacked on, sending Asahi a regretful look.

But he got it. The look on their faces made it clear they weren't going to let this go. Damnit.

"If you say so." Was Tanaka's immediate response, his focus having remained completely on Kyoko the entire time.

Noya, however, gave Asahi a look that said he was paying attention and knew that he was going to have to fight to get the answers he wanted. And was prepared to do so.

Kageyama nodded and walked away after saying goodbye, but glanced over her shoulder twice before he left with the two second years once they'd said their goodbyes as well.

Once they were out of sight Kiyoko moved to Asahi's side, and in a quiet voice asked him if he could tell her what was going on.

Not looking at her, it was just easier that way, Asahi said hopefully just enough that she'd understand without him having to spell it out to her. And die trying, due to head explosion or heart attack.

"Suga said something that made them think he was going to show Daichi some super secret technique that would make someone a better volleyball player. They misunderstood what they heard through the clubhouse door, and think it's something painful."

A minute to absorb.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"You'll warn them?"

"Yup."

"Good. We should go back to class."

"Yeah. See you at practice."

A sound of agreement. Then the surprise of an honest to goodness giggle from Kiyoko that had Asahi glancing down at her.

"Those poor boys."

"Suga and Daichi, or the other three?"

"All of them."

Fair.


End file.
